Did you know that there is a data base for authors? It is absolutely extraordinary. I joined when I became an author, but I didn’t realize all of the awesome things available on the site!

There are a vast array of tools and they even have featured blogs. They showcase authors and books as well. Additionally, they have a cover contest which I’ve been involved with two years in a row.

The other great thing is the customer service! I encountered some problems last night on the site and was responded to immediately. It was shocked, to be honest, at the quick response. It was also a little comforting knowing that they are attentive to their authors and members.

So, if you haven’t checked them out, take a moment and do so. It is a great place to find your friends and to see what’s new.

I am not famous. I know that I am not followed by millions of people. I know that the likelihood of anyone even caring about this blog post is remote, but I am writing it anyway. I am outraged and sickened by this latest crime against an endangered species. I am not a hunter. I do not agree with hunting. In fact, I vehemently disagree with it. I think it is a legalized form of violence; a way for women and/or men to prove to the world that they are the biggest and baddest wankers that ever walked the planet. So, if you are a hunter, don’t read any further, and personally I could care less whether I offended you or not! I get tired of seeing your posts with deer heads and bear heads and other animals you’ve slaughtered. I have friends who are hunters. It is one of those things I chose to look beyond in order to be friends. I try to put it out of my mind because not everyone has to agree with one another. There are certain situations that warrant individuals to agree to disagree. However, I am perfectly allowed to speak out against these sorts of things.

Dr. Walter James Palmer is a coward. To do something so ghastly and not to be held accountable for this travesty simply makes me sick to my stomach. He needs to be fined or to be held responsible for his actions in some form or fashion (But will he? Of course not!)

I don’t care what anyone says, animals feel and they think and they remember and they are creatures that the Creator put upon this planet to beautify our world. They were not put here to suffer and be abused and to be hunted and killed for sport! They are precious and keep a balance going in nature. They weren’t put on the planet to be victimized any more than children were placed on this earth to have their aborted body parts harvested. I understand that certain circumstances call for drastic decisions, but there is no reason why babies bodies should be given to “science” in the name of blessed research. And frankly, I am watching the world I am living in crumble before my very eyes. It makes me sad, angry, violent, want to scream obscenities to the top of my voice, and absolutely ill to see all of the things that have transpired recently. WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH????

If I could boycott this vomitous mass of a human being, referring to Palmer now, and I use the words “human being” in the loosest way possible, I would. What he did was the most inhumane act of cruelty, to lure an animal away just for mere sport. Dr. Palmer, you need to be set free in a dark forest and hunted. What’s more is that the folks who helped you carry this out need to saddled up right beside you. YOU MAKE ME SICK! ALL OF IT MAKES ME SICK! Horse whipped, hanged, humiliated. Something!

You think that because an animal isn’t a person, they don’t think. That their cognitive abilities are lesser than yours. You think that because they are not able to speak, that they cannot feel. WRONG! WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!!

Do I have the answers. Oh my God, I wish I did! The only thing I can do is stand by and watch, but I DO NOT HAVE TO BE QUIET! I am not wealthy, otherwise I could get laws passed against this sort of thing. I would have every politician in my back pocket. Unfortunately, I don’t hold that kind of power. The only thing I can do is pray for some kind of justice to be served upon this man and his little band of followers. I sincerely hope he loses his practice once this situations goes viral, which I believe it already has.

All we have left are these animals. The rest have been tracked down and killed to extinction. I can hardly stomach the zoo to be quite honest. I love taking my son to the zoo because I absolutely love the animals we see when we are there. I learn so much about them. I also understand that it is good that these animals have been saved from being killed, but they are in captivity BECAUSE their natural environment has people like Dr. Palmer running wild. The zoos are trying to save what we have left, in a sense.

The earth is richer for all of the animals and creepy-crawlies we have. The oceans are filled with beautiful animals that get hunted everyday for sport and to fatten our tummies, exported to us and other countries. All I see anymore is inhumane treatment of animals. Everywhere I look. It is all over Facebook and social media. I know we have to eat. Meat is a part of my diet. However, lion meat or rhino meat or elephant meat isn’t. I don’t have anything ivory in this house and never will!

For God’s sake! What would happen if we harvested humans the way we do animals. OH WAIT! Planned Parenthood is taking care of that!

I am not going to apologize for my outrage either. I’m tired and fed up. I am sick of the hate and the division. We take off innocent television programs, but manage to let scum like Dr. Palmer do whatever he pleases. There is something wrong with this picture people!

I had a conversation the other day. I realized quickly that it is a good thing I do not rule the world. I would be like Darth Vader, I’m afraid. The words in George Lucas’s second installment of Star Wars echoes in my head. When Anikin Skywalker tells Padme’ that we should have a government where the officials come together and discuss the problem. Then he says that he would make them see reason. That would be me. It would not be a negotiable forum. I know, I know. It makes me sound crazy.

I was told recently to stop posting things like this. Here’s the truth: THIS IS ME! I am passionate about things like this. I am passionate about life and protecting things that deserve protecting and preserving things that need preservation! I am an advocate for living things that cannot defend themselves. I always have been and I always will be. If that doesn’t bring traffic to my books and my publishing business, then so be it! I would rather be remembered for standing up for what I believe in!

Likra Steyak is the daughter of General Nathan and Giltra Steyak. She has always known life in Kacon. Growing up there, she and her sister were raised in the Holy Church of the Creator God and watched their father rise in rank in the royal army. By the time Likra was five her father was a General and on the council to the King.

Each week a council meeting was held in the castle. Because her father was required to be present, Likra begged to go with him. She felt an intense bond with her father and separation plagued her in his absence. Sometimes, she was inconsolable when he was away. So, Nathan sought council with King Jyson who gladly approved Likra’s presence during the gathering. Likra, Ziltra, and Nevin played on the hard, stone floor as the council members discussed business and the welfare of the kingdom. Naturally, a life long bond of friendship formed between the three of them.

Likra was stubborn, yet courageous. She always kept a level head. When Ziltra was off in the clouds, she managed to speak reason and pull her dearest friend back to reality. She was often the voice of reason.

Hours and hours were spent in the West Woods playing and pretending with her friends. When she grew older, Jyson gave her a position at the school teaching arithmetic. She was brilliant with numbers and strategies, surely inherited from her father. She was able to present her lessons to the children in an easily understood manner. The children, in fact, loved her.

Her world was jolted when she learned that Ziltra would be used as a sacrificial lamb to ensure continued peace in Kacon. Her friend was to marry the Prince Hoje of Buscom to solidify an alliance between the two cities. She watched her friend fall into despair, but spoke comfort to her. Likra found herself acting as a messenger of sorts at times. However, she didn’t mind. She would do whatever the Princess requested. She couldn’t believe the King had placed Ziltra in such a position, but she spoke wisdom to her friend when it was warranted. But, then she saw Ziltra withdrawal and waste away in a sense. Nevin had been taken from both of them as he began training to be the adviser to Ziltra.

Likra was soon introduced to Noct Brion. He was the brother to Ziltra’s bodyguard and a high ranking officer in the royal army. They formed a fast friendship and soon romantic feelings emerged. They eventually agreed that once the princess was settled and married, they too would marry. However, their plan was wrought with heartbreak. When Noct was ordered by Ziltra to secure her homeland of Tonkipe, he was sent on a journey and never returned. Hardened by this, it almost destroyed the friendship Likra shared with Ziltra. But, it was Nevin who spoke of reason and employed her in a larger purpose, one she never even imagined was possible.

Nick’s condescension offended her. “So you’re another know-it-all agent, I see. Just so you know it’s because of agents like you that I want nothing to do with the FBI on a full time basis. You couldn’t pay me enough. A flock of arrogant asses,” she said sharply. “Agent Bennette,” she continued, “I don’t use conjecture. My job is to take factual information and formulate possibilities. It’s a rare method, but I use statistical profiling to compile information about the offender. Many of my predecessors used intuition-based profiling and I suppose in reality, much of profiling uses intuition, but I prefer a more scientifically proven method.”

“Hey listen, Doc, don’t get mad,” he protested as he stood looking down at her. She stood instinctively to even the playing field. “And we’re not all asses,” he continued, pointing at her. “As far as your ‘methods,’ I just think crimes are solved by good old fashioned police work, not this mumbo jumbo you behavioralists come up with.”

“I really don’t have time to debate this with you,” she finished, “so if you don’t mind, I have a profile to present.”

Lauren walked out of the room and into the area where the web cam waited. Detective Mullins and six other officers sat in an adjacent conference room. Nick followed her in and sat beside the detective.

Lisa and Chris walked in from an outside door. Lauren watched as Lisa saw the empty seat beside Nick and then sat down. She leaned over to Nick conspicuously. Trying hard not to listen, Lauren continued setting up, but she couldn’t help overhearing.

“So, how have you been, Nick?” Lisa asked in a low and salutary voice.

“Good. Trying to get used to this job I guess,” he answered indifferently, “and trying to figure out how to work with you people.”

“Oh, don’t be so bitter, Nick. I’m sure the pay raise has been enough compensation for working with ‘us people.’”

He glared over at her, but then softened. “What can you tell me about Dr. Harris? She seems sort of uptight.”

“Lauren is very professional. She is extremely well respected. She knows her stuff, Nick. She is always very prepared. Nothing takes her by surprise. She knows what she’s doing. She’s brilliant, too, but she does have some difficulty socially, which is ironic, since she’s a psychologist. Her entire field of study is human behavior, but yet a social situation sometimes makes her uneasy. She’s come a long way though. You should have seen her when she started. She struggled, but like she does with everything, she made it her mission to master her insecurities and she’s worked hard on the way people perceive her.”

My name is Andrew Joyce, and I write books for a living. Tracee has been kind enough to allow me a little space on her blog to promote my new book, MOLLY LEE. The story is a female-driven account of a young naive girl’s journey into an independent, strong woman and all the trouble she gets into along the way.

Now you may possibly be asking yourself, What is a guy doing writing in a woman’s voice? And that’s a good question. I can only say that I did not start out to write about Molly; she just came to me one day and asked that I tell her story.

Perhaps I should start at the beginning.

My first book was a 164,000-word historical novel. And in the publishing world, anything over 80,000 words for a first-time author is heresy. Or so I was told time and time again when I approached an agent for representation. After two years of research and writing, and a year of trying to secure the services of an agent, I got angry. To be told that my efforts were meaningless was somewhat demoralizing to say the least. I mean, those rejections were coming from people who had never even read my book.

“So you want an 80,000-word novel?” I said to no one in particular, unless you count my dog, because he was the only one around at the time. Consequently, I decided to show them City Slickers that I could write an 80,000-word novel!

I had just finished reading Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn for the third time, and I started thinking about what ever happened to those boys, Tom and Huck. They must have grown up, but then what? So I sat down at my computer and banged out REDEMPTION: The Further Adventures of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer in two months; then sent out query letters to agents.

Less than a month later, the chairman of one of the biggest agencies in New York City emailed me that he loved the story. We signed a contract and it was off to the races, or so I thought. But then the real fun began: the serious editing. Seven months later, I gave birth to Huck and Tom as adults. And just for the record, the final word count is 79,914. The book went on to reach #1 status on Amazon twice, and the rest, as they say, is history.
But not quite.

My agent then wanted me to write a sequel, but I had other plans. I was in the middle of editing down my first novel (that had been rejected by 1,876,324 agents . . . or so it seemed) from 164,000 words to the present 142,000. However, he was insistent, so I started to think about it. Now, one thing you have to understand is that I tied up all the loose ends at the end of REDEMPTION, so there was no way that I could write a sequel. And that is when Molly asked me to tell her story. Molly was a character that we met briefly in the first chapter of REDEMPTION, and then she is not heard from again.

This is the description from MOLLY LEE:

Molly is about to set off on the adventure of a lifetime . . . of two lifetimes.
It’s 1861 and the Civil War has just started. Molly is an eighteen-year-old girl living on her family’s farm in Virginia when two deserters from the Southern Cause enter her life. One of them—a twenty-four-year-old Huck Finn—ends up saving her virtue, if not her life.

Molly is so enamored with Huck, she wants to run away with him. But Huck has other plans and is gone the next morning before she awakens. Thus starts a sequence of events that leads Molly into adventure after adventure; most of them not so nice.

We follow the travails of Molly Lee, starting when she is eighteen and ending when she is fifty-six. Even then Life has one more surprise in store for her.

As I had wondered whatever became of Huck and Tom, I also wondered what Molly did when she found Huck gone.
I know this has been a long-winded set up, but I felt I had to tell the backstory. Now I can move on and tell you about Molly.

As stated earlier, Molly starts out as a naive young girl. Over time she develops into a strong, independent woman. The change is gradual. Her strengths come from the adversities she encounters along the road that is her life.
With each setback, Molly follows that first rule she set against self-pity and simply moves on to make the best of whatever life throws her way. From working as a whore to owning a saloon, from going to prison to running a ranch, Molly plays to win with the cards she’s dealt. But she always keeps her humanity. She will kill to defend herself, and she has no problem killing to protect the weak and preyed upon. However, when a band of Indians (for instance) have been run off their land and have nowhere else to go, Molly allows them to live on her ranch, and in time they become extended family.

This is from a review on Amazon:

“A young female in nineteenth-century rural America would have needed courage, fortitude, and firm resolve to thrive in the best of circumstances. Molly Lee possesses all of these, along with an iron will and an inherent ability to read people accurately and respond accordingly.”

I reckon that about sums up Molly.

I would like to say that I wrote MOLLY LEE in one sitting and everything in it is my pure genius. But that would be a lie. I have three editors (two women and one guy). They kept me honest with regard to Molly. When I made her a little too hard, they would point out that she had to be softer or show more emotion in a particular scene.
I set out to write a book where every chapter ended with a cliffhanger. I wanted the reader to be forced to turn to the next chapter. And I pretty much accomplished that, but I also wrote a few chapters where Molly and my readers could catch their collective breath.

One last thing: Everything in MOLLY LEE is historically correct from the languages of the Indians to the descriptions of the way people dressed, spoke, and lived. I spend as much time on research as I do in writing my stories. Sometimes more.

It looks as though I’ve used up my allotted word count (self-imposed), so I reckon I’ll ride off into the sunset and rustle up a little vodka and cranberry juice (with extra lime).

Today we are going to talk about a taboo subject of sorts. As an author, the first question for most is, “How much will my royalties be?” The great thing about being indie is that you can set your own pricing for your books. Each site is different on their royalty structure and payment. As an indie, I have to front the cost of many things, but when it is all said and done, whatever I make off of my royalties is mine to keep. I’m not going to lie, it takes time to reap all of the cost you put out to get your work in the hands of readers, but the freedom to keep what’s yours is well worth it.

That is why Ozwind’s royalty structure is unlike other publishers. The writer gets 60% of their net royalties. That is huge when most companies want to give you as low as 20%. You put the time and effort into that book. Shouldn’t you get the money for it?

When I walked away from traditional publishing, I quickly realized I wasn’t getting compensated nearly what I deserved. When I got my final invoice for my cancellation, there were royalties there I didn’t even realize existed. Keep in mind it is normal for companies to charge a termination fee, but it is not normal for them to keep you in the dark about how much you have actually made. In fact, I tested this. I ordered one of my own books to see if it would show up in my royalties. It didn’t. As an indie, I don’t have to worry about that anymore.

There are many companies in the publishing business as well as other industries that preach ethics and honesty, but don’t actually stand by that. Then again there are publishers as well as other businesses that are truly ethical and transparent. They aren’t all bad, but for me, indie was the path I needed to take and it made the most sense financially as well as creatively.

The Independence Inventory Sale ends this week. I ran the sale to celebrate my personal independence from traditional publishing and to welcome readers to the world of Ozwind. I truly hope you enjoyed the Sunday Shares and that perhaps it helps you in your quest of creativity.